U.S. patent number 6,991,064 [Application Number 10/729,877] was granted by the patent office on 2006-01-31 for mobile lifting device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Eisenmann Maschinenbau. KG (Komplementar-Elsenmann-Stiftung. Invention is credited to Franz Ehrenleitner.
United States Patent |
6,991,064 |
Ehrenleitner |
January 31, 2006 |
Mobile lifting device
Abstract
A mobile lifting device comprises a supporting carriage which is
capable of travelling along a specific path and from which there is
suspended, via a hoisting apparatus having at least two traction
members a lifting platform which can be moved with a vertical
component of direction in relation to the supporting carriage. In
order to prevent uncontrolled lateral movements of the lifting
platform, a stabilizing apparatus is provided which is formed by at
least one essentially rigid pivoting member. The latter is
swivellably connected, in one end region, to the supporting
carriage and, in an opposed end region, to the lifting platform. In
this way, a movement of the platform that possesses a vertical
component of direction is always linked with a defined horizontal
movement. If desired, this defined horizontal movement can be
compensated for, wholly or partially, by a corresponding,
oppositely directed translational movement of the supporting
carriage.
Inventors: |
Ehrenleitner; Franz
(Altensteig-Walddorf, DE) |
Assignee: |
Eisenmann Maschinenbau. KG
(Komplementar-Elsenmann-Stiftung (Boblingen,
DE)
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Family
ID: |
32309022 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/729,877 |
Filed: |
December 5, 2003 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20050025612 A1 |
Feb 3, 2005 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Dec 5, 2002 [DE] |
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102 57 108 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
182/141;
254/278 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B62D
65/18 (20130101); B65G 49/0459 (20130101); B66C
13/06 (20130101); B66F 7/02 (20130101); B65G
2201/0294 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E04G
1/18 (20060101); B66D 1/26 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;182/141,142,143,144,150
;254/278,290,264,266 ;187/213,279,277,239,253,270 ;414/227,234,800
;451/354,439 ;125/13.01,21,12 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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19819993 |
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May 1998 |
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DE |
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0963904 |
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Jun 1998 |
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EP |
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1106563 |
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Nov 2000 |
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EP |
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1378480 |
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Jul 2002 |
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EP |
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1340709 |
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Nov 2002 |
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EP |
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Primary Examiner: Thompson, II; Hugh B.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Watson IP Group, PLC Jovanovic;
Jovan N.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Mobile lifting device comprising: a) a supporting carriage; b) a
lifting platform for receiving a load; c) a hoisting apparatus
connected to each of the supporting carriage and the lifting
platform, including at least two traction members and, with the aid
of which, the lifting platform can be moved with a vertical
component of direction in relation to the supporting carriage; d) a
stabilising apparatus which prevents an uncontrolled lateral
movement of the lifting platform in relation to the supporting
carriage, e) wherein the stabilising apparatus is formed by at
least one, essentially rigid pivoting member which is swivellably
connected, in one end region, to the supporting carriage and, in an
opposed end region, to the lifting platform in such a way that,
when the supporting carriage is stationary, a movement of the
platform that possesses a vertical component of direction is always
linked with a defined horizontal movement of the platform.
2. Lifting device according to claim 1, wherein the lifting
platform has an essentially rectangular base frame, and the at
least two traction members comprises four traction members, wherein
pairs of traction members are fastened on opposite, parallel sides
of the rectangle.
3. Lifting device according to claim 2, wherein fastened to the
base frame are a number of downwardly extending retaining struts to
which a load can be detachably fastened.
4. Lifting device according to claim 1, wherein a control system is
provided, to which a signal which is representative of the vertical
position of the lifting platform is fed and which moves the
supporting carriage horizontally, in accordance with the signal, in
such a way that the horizontal movement which is linked with the
vertical movement of the lifting platform is, at least partially,
compensated for.
5. Lifting device according to claim 1, wherein the supporting
carriage includes a drive for translational movement of the
supporting carriage along a specific path.
6. Lifting device according to claim 1, wherein the supporting
carriage is provided with coupling means by which the supporting
carriage can be coupled to an external conveyer system for
travelling of the supporting carriage along a specific path.
7. Lifting device according to claim 1, wherein the at least two
traction members comprise a plurality of cables.
8. Lifting device according to claim 1, wherein the at least two
traction members comprise chains.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to mobile lifting devices, and
more particularly, to a mobile lifting device having: (a) a
supporting carriage which is capable of travelling along a specific
path; (b) a lifting platform for receiving a load; (c) a hoisting
apparatus which has at least two traction means and with the aid of
which the lifting platform can be moved with a vertical component
of direction in relation to the supporting carriage; (d) a
stabilising apparatus which prevents an uncontrolled lateral
movement of the lifting platform in relation to the supporting
carriage.
2. Background Art
Lifting devices of this kind are used in the most varied technical
fields. They are particularly often to be found in enamelling
installations in which the objects to be enamelled have to be
immersed in treatment tanks, or for instance in the shell assembly
or final assembly of vehicle bodies. However, they may also be
used, for example, as storage and retrieval units for high-bay
warehouses. What is common to all these applications is that the
objects have to execute both a translatory (horizontal) movement
and also a vertical movement.
From the construction point of view, the simplest way of raising or
lowering a lifting platform consists in suspending the latter from
a number of cables or chains, generally four, and varying the
effective length of the cables or chains by winding them onto or
off driven drums in the appropriate manner. At this point, however,
the problem arises that the lifting platform may execute
uncontrolled lateral movements when acted upon by external lateral
forces as well as by lateral forces of inertia, and may start to
swing, particularly in the lateral direction. In this connection,
the term "lateral" is understood to mean any direction that
deviates from the vertical, whether it be in the direction of
movement of the lifting device or perpendicular to said direction.
In known mobile lifting devices of the kind initially mentioned,
therefore, stabilising apparatuses are provided which are intended
to eliminate lateral movements of this kind.
There are known from the market, for example, mobile lifting
devices in which the stabilising apparatus is formed by
scissor-type lattices which are attached to the supporting carriage
at the top and to the lifting platform at the bottom. These
scissor-type lattices ensure that the lifting platform hanging from
the cables or chains possesses no lateral degrees of freedom of
movement.
In the case of the lifting device described in EP 1 106 563 A2,
which likewise belongs to the kind initially mentioned,
stabilisation of the lifting platform against unwanted lateral
movements takes place as a result of special guidance of the cables
or chains between the supporting carriage and the lifting
platform.
Both the abovementioned examples of mobile lifting stations possess
a relatively expensive construction.
The object of the present invention is to configure a mobile
lifting device of the initially mentioned kind in such a way that
the expenditure on construction is reduced.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This object is achieved, according to the invention, through the
fact that: (e) the stabilising apparatus is formed by at least one,
essentially rigid pivoting member which is swivellably connected,
in one end region, to the supporting carriage and, in an opposed
end region, to the lifting platform in such a way that, when the
supporting carriage is stationary, a movement of the platform that
possesses a vertical component of direction is always linked with a
defined horizontal movement.
The present invention constitutes, for the first time, a departure
from a basic concept in which the prior art was always rooted.
According to said concept, attempts were hitherto always made to
move the load as precisely as possible in the vertical direction in
relation to the supporting carriage and to permit no lateral
deflections of any kind. The consequence of this basic
constructional concept was the relatively complicated design of the
stabilising apparatus.
The invention recognises that it is entirely possible, in most
cases, to link a vertical movement of the load with a horizontal
movement, as long as the horizontal movement is precisely defined
and controlled. This knowledge opens the way for the invention to
use, as the stabilising apparatus, one or more simple, rigid
pivoting members which is or are swivellably fastened, on the one
hand, to the supporting carriage and, on the other, to the lifting
platform. In the event of a lifting or lowering movement of the
lifting platform, the fastening point of each pivoting member on
the lifting platform moves over a circle. This means that, even
when the supporting carriage is not moved, each vertical movement
of the load is automatically linked with a well-defined horizontal
movement, since the distance between the two fastening points of
each pivoting member in the horizontal direction, that is to say
the projection of the length of the pivoting member onto the
horizontal, varies proportionally to the cosine of the angle of
pivoting. However, controlled horizontal movements of this kind can
be tolerated in almost all cases, since they can be included in
advance when calculating the movement of the supporting carriage.
As a constructional element, a pivoting member is extremely robust
and inexpensive.
The lifting platform may have an essentially rectangular base
frame, to which two traction means in each case are fastened on
opposite, parallel sides of the rectangle. This type of suspension
permits a particularly favourable load distribution over the
various cables or chains; it is inherently characterised by
particular stability.
There are expediently fastened to the base frame a number of
downwardly extending retaining struts to which the load can be
detachably fastened. The centre of gravity of the lifting platform
is therefore located, particularly when the load is put on,
distinctly below that point on the lifting platform to which the
traction means and also the pivoting member are fastened.
In a particularly preferred form of embodiment of the invention, a
control system is provided, to which a signal which is
representative of the vertical position of the lifting platform is
fed and which moves the supporting carriage horizontally, in
accordance with this signal, in such a way that the horizontal
movement which is linked with the vertical movement of the lifting
platform is, at least partially, compensated for. With the aid of
this configuration, a precise vertical movement of the load in
space is possible, since the sidewards movement of the load in
relation to the supporting carriage, which movement is linked with
the swivelling of the pivoting member or members, is offset by a
corresponding translatory movement of said supporting carriage.
The lifting device is particularly flexible if it has its own
drive. Generally speaking, in industrial installations in which
lifting devices of the kind which are of interest here are used, a
number of lifting devices of this kind are conveyed through the
installation, one behind the other, on essentially the same path.
If each lifting device of this kind possesses its own drive, each
supporting carriage can also perform, independently of other
supporting carriages, that compensating movement which is necessary
for achieving a precise vertical movement of the load located on
the lifting device in question. This also means, in particular,
that the distance between the supporting carriages of the
individual lifting devices can vary.
That configuration in which the supporting carriage of each lifting
device is provided with coupling means by which it can be coupled
to an external conveyer system, is more economical and, in many
cases, also adequate. An external conveyer system of this kind may,
for example, be a conveyer chain which extends along the path of
movement of the lifting devices. The supporting carriages of the
individual lifting devices may be in permanent engagement with the
conveyer chain, so that their distance from one another cannot be
varied. However, it is also conceivably possible for the external
conveyer system to be an overhead twin-rail chain conveyer, into
which the supporting carriages of the individual lifting device can
be coupled, or from which they can be uncoupled again, as
required.
The traction means are preferably cables or chains.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
An exemplified embodiment of the invention will be described in
greater detail below with the aid of the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the lifting device, with the
lifting platform lowered into its bottommost position and
orientated horizontally;
FIG. 2 shows the side view to FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 shows the lifting device in FIG. 1, but with the
horizontally orientated lifting platform in the uppermost
position;
FIG. 4 shows the side view to FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 shows the lifting device in FIGS. 1 and 3, but with the
horizontally orientated lifting platform in a middle position;
FIG. 6 shows the side view to FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 shows the front view to FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 shows the lifting device in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, in which,
however, the lifting platform is inclined in one direction;
FIG. 9 shows the side view to FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 shows the lifting device in FIG. 8, in which, however, the
lifting platform is tilted in the opposite direction; and
FIG. 11 shows the side view to FIG. 10.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different
forms, there is shown in the drawings and described herein in
detail a specific embodiment with the understanding that the
present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the
principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the
invention to the embodiment illustrated.
Reference will first of all be made to FIGS. 1 and 2. These show a
lifting device which is provided, as a whole, with the reference
numeral 1 and which serves to convey vehicle bodies 2 through
various treatment stations, for example, through the pretreatment
tanks of an enamelling installation and subsequently through a
cataphoretic dip-enamelling tank. The lifting device 1 comprises,
as the main components, a supporting carriage 3 and also a lifting
platform 4 which is held in a vertically adjustable position by the
supporting carriage 3 in a manner which will be described further
on, and is conveyed together with said carriage.
The supporting carriage 3 possesses a frame 5 which is stiff
against torsion and consists of two triangular lateral frame parts
5a, 5b and transverse struts 6, 7, 8, 9 that connect the latter to
one another, and of a stiffening strut 10 that passes diagonally
through the vertical rectangular side of the frame 5. Disposed on
each of the two parallel, horizontal, upper longitudinal traverses
11, 12 of the two lateral parts 5a, 5b of the frame 5 are two
driven supporting rollers 13, in each case, which are rotatably
mounted in supporting brackets 14 fastened to said longitudinal
traverses 11, 12. For the sake of clarity, the motors with the aid
of which the supporting rollers 13 can be moved in rotation are not
represented.
The supporting rollers 13 disposed on opposite sides of the frame 5
each run in a pair of guide rails, not represented, so that the
supporting carriage 3 is able to move along the supporting rails in
known manner as a result of rotation of the supporting rollers
13.
Rotatably mounted on that lateral face of the transverse strut 7 of
the frame 5 which faces away from the observer in FIG. 1 are two
driven cable drums 15, 16. Two other driven cable drums 17, 18 are
rotatably mounted, in a corresponding manner, on that lateral face
of the transverse strut 8 which points forwards in FIG. 1. The
driving motors of the cable drums 15 to 18 are not represented,
again for reasons of clarity.
Four cables 19, 20, 21 and 22, whose upper regions are wound onto
the cable drums 15, 16, 17, 18, extend from said cable drums 15,
16, 17, 18 to a rectangular base frame 23 of the lifting platform
4, that it to say, to the opposite sides of said frame that extend
transversely to the direction of movement. They are fastened at
that point.
The supporting carriage 3 is also connected to the lifting platform
4 via a rigid, U-shaped pivoting member 24 which serves, in a
manner that will be described further on, as a stabilising
apparatus. At an end adjacent to its base 24a, the pivoting member
24 is pivotably mounted in retaining brackets 25 which are fastened
to the two lateral parts 5a, 5b of the frame 5 of the supporting
carriage 3. This being the case, the base 24a of the pivoting
member 24 extends parallel to the transverse strut 9 of the frame 5
and adjacent to said strut.
The two parallel legs 24b, 24c of the pivoting member 24 lie in
vertical planes that are orientated parallel to the direction of
travel. Their ends which are remote from the base 24a are rotatably
mounted in retaining brackets 26 which are fastened in the vicinity
of that side of the rectangle of the base frame 23 which faces away
from the base 24a and extends transversely to the direction of
travel.
Extending downwards from the base frame 23 of the lifting platform
4 are four retaining struts 27, 28, 29, 30, which have, at their
bottom end, an angled portion 27a, 28a, 29a, 30a, which angled
portions point inwards, that is to say towards one another. The
vehicle body 2 is mounted and fastened on the angled portions 27a,
28a, 29a, 30a in a known manner which is not represented.
The functioning of the lifting device 1 described above is as
follows:
Let consideration be given, first of all, to FIGS. 1 and 2, in
which the base frame 23 of the lifting platform 4 is located in a
bottom, lowered position, but at the same time is orientated
horizontally. All the cables 19, 20, 21, 22 therefore have the same
length between their fastening point on the base frame 23 of the
lifting platform 4 and the associated cable drums 15, 16, 17, 18.
However, the cables 19, 20, 21, 22 do not extend vertically, since
the pivoting member 24 pulls the lifting platform 4 slightly
towards the left in FIGS. 1 and 2. The location of the lifting
platform 4 is completely stable; no instances of lateral tilting of
any kind are possible, either in the direction of movement or
perpendicularly to the latter.
Let it now be assumed that the lifting platform 4 is to be raised
out of the position represented in FIGS. 1 and 2 and into the
position represented in FIGS. 3 and 4, which represents its normal
position in which it is moved, outside the processing stations,
with the aid of the supporting carriage 3. This position is brought
about by a uniform actuation of all the cable drums 15, 16, 17, 18,
in which all the cables 19, 20, 21, 22 are shortened to the same
extent. The two legs 24b, 24a have now come closer to the obliquely
extending struts of the two lateral parts 5a, 5b of the frame 5 of
the supporting carriage 3 and extend almost parallel to said
struts. Since the angle of pivoting of the pivoting member 24 in
relation to the horizontal in FIGS. 3 and 4 is smaller than in the
lowered position in FIGS. 1 and 2, the supporting cables 19, 20,
21, 22 now extend vertically.
On the way from the position presented in FIGS. 1 and 2 into the
position in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lifting platform 4 passes through
the position represented in FIGS. 5 and 6, in which the pivoting
member 24 is horizontal. In this position, the lifting platform 4
is at the greatest distance, in the horizontal direction, from the
vertical rectangular side of the frame 5 of the supporting carriage
3. The cables 19, 20, 21, 22 therefore again form an angle with the
vertical, but this time in the opposite direction, in relation to
the vertical, to that in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Consideration of FIGS. 1 to 7 makes it clear that, even when the
supporting carriage 3 is stationary, a lifting movement of the
lifting platform 4 is bound up with a translational movement of
said lifting platform 4 in the horizontal direction. In many cases,
in which the position of the vehicle body 2 does not need to be
accurately defined in the horizontal direction, this does not cause
any harm. But in those cases where accurate positioning of the
vehicle body 2 is important, the horizontal movement of the lifting
platform 4, which is then unwanted and is automatically linked with
a vertical movement, can be compensated for by a corresponding
translational movement, which extends in the opposite direction, of
the supporting carriage 3 along the supporting rails. For this
purpose, the lifting device 1 possesses a measuring apparatus with
the aid of which it is possible to generate an electrical signal
which is representative of the vertical position of the lifting
platform 4. For example, a transmitter may be provided, which
measures the angular position of the pivoting member 24 in relation
to the horizontal or to some other reference direction. The output
signal from the measuring apparatus is now fed to the control
system of the installation. This control system gives the driving
motors for the supporting rollers 13 the signal to move the
supporting carriage 3 in such a way that, when the lifting platform
4 is lowered, its location in the horizontal direction remains
constant, and the lowering operation of said lifting platform 4 in
space therefore takes place in a precisely vertical manner.
In a manufacturing installation, a number of lifting devices 1
generally follow one another on the supporting rails. If the
lifting and lowering movements of the various lifting platforms 4
are controlled, in the manner described, by compensating movements
of the corresponding supporting carriages 3 in such a way that they
extend in a precisely perpendicular manner, this means that the
distances between the lifting devices 1 that follow one another
vary. This can be achieved in a particularly simple manner, if all
the lifting devices 1 are equipped with their own drives for their
horizontal movement. What can also be achieved in this case, for
example, is that all the vehicle bodies 2 that follow one another
are at the same distance from one another throughout, whereas the
distances between the supporting carriages 3 from which the
individual vehicle bodies 2 are suspended may be different at
various points.
Basically, however, it is also possible for those supporting
carriages 3 of the various lifting devices 1 which follow one
another to be provided, in the installation as a whole, not with
their own drives but with a common chain drive. This is
particularly possible in those cases in which the lifting or
lowering movement of the lifting platforms 4 does not need to take
place in a precisely vertical manner or all the lifting and
lowering movements take place simultaneously, so that that
compensating movement of all the supporting carriages 3 which is
necessary for achieving a precise vertical movement can take place
simultaneously.
With the aid of the lifting device 1 described above, it is not
only possible to raise and lower the lifting platform 4 with the
base frame 23 orientated horizontally, but what is more, said base
frame 23 can also be tilted, in a manner superimposed upon the
lifting or lowering movement, as is represented, for example, in
FIGS. 8 and 9. In the latter, as a result of more extensive
paying-out of the two cables 21, 22 adjacent to the front side of
the vehicle body 2 and correspondingly less extensive paying-out of
the cables 19, 20 adjacent to the rear of said vehicle body 2, the
base frame 23 of the lifting platform 4 is tilted in such a way
that the front side of said vehicle body 2 is inclined downwards.
This may, for example, be a position which is particularly suitable
for immersing the vehicle body 2 in an enamel tank or some other
treatment liquid.
FIGS. 10 and 11 show a reversed inclination of the base frame 23 of
the lifting platform 4, in which the rear of the vehicle body 2
lies lower than the front side. This, too, may be a position which
is favourable for the purposes of immersion in a treatment
liquid.
In an exemplified embodiment which is not represented in the
drawings, the lifting platform does not support the load directly
but via a rotating device in which said load is held and which is
rotatable or swivellable about an axis extending parallel to the
direction of movement of the supporting carriage. It is thus
possible, for example, to also rotate or swivel a vehicle about its
longitudinal axis, something which is frequently desired,
particularly during the final assembly of the vehicle.
The foregoing description merely explains and illustrates the
invention and the invention is not limited thereto except insofar
as the appended claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art
who have the disclosure before them will be able to make
modifications without departing from the scope of the
invention.
* * * * *